Rail-joint.



N0. 764,397. PATENTED JULY `5, 1904. A. L. THOMPSON & W. H. HOVENDEN.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLIoATIoN HLED JULY e, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

Avr/ff? E y Wage/#H0 2 is a side elevation of the same.

UNITED STATES Patented July 5, 1904."

PATENT OFFICE.

ALLEN L. THOMPSON AND WALTER H. HOVENDEN, OF `SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH; SAID THOMPSON ASSIGNOR TO JAMES E. HOUTS AND ARTHUR GARDNER, OE SALT LAKE CITY,` UTAH.

'. RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,397, dated July 5, 1904.

Application filed July 9, 1903. Serial No. 164,871. (No model.)

To all whom, it 11i/ay concern.-

Be it known that we, ALLEN L. THOMPSON and WALTER H. HOVENDEN, citizens of the United States, residing at Salt Lake City, in

5 the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints', of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rail-joints, and has IO for its object to provide a simple, economical, and reliable rail-joint composed'of three main pieces so arranged with respect to each other and to the rail as to firmly embrace the meeting ends of the rails and form a iirm support I5 at the rail-joint, thus preventing a depression of the rails at the point where they meet and also the spreading of the rails at such point.

The joint hereinafter described overcomes the usual pounding of the wheels and eiiiects 2O a material saving in the ties and the expense incident thereto.

With the above and other objects in View theinvention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts,

2 5 as hereinafter fullydescribed, illustrated,and

claimed. In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective ViewA of a rail-joint constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the rail-joint, taken in line with one of the bolts.

Like reference-numerals designate corresponding parts in all figures of the drawings. The rail-joint contemplated in this invention comprises, essentially, three main partsnamely, apair of fish-plates l and 2 and a baseplatc or yoke 3. The base-plate 3A is made lperfectly fiat, and the base 4 of the rail is adapted to rest squarely thereon, as shown in Fig. 3. In carrying out the present invention the base-plate 3 is provided at suitable points in line with the opposite edges of the base l of the rail with a plurality of apertures or 45 slots 5, four of such slots being shown at each side of the railsjoint, although said number maybe increased or diminished, as may be found expedient. Each of the fish-plates l and 2 comprises an upright web portion (i, which is adapted to be bolted {iatwise against 5 C the adjacent side of the web 7 of the rail, while the upper edge of the part (i is adapted to un derlie and bear firmly against the lower side of the head Bof the rail. The lower portion of the fish-plate is bent outward to form a iange 9, which tits against the upper side of the base-flange of the rail, and the outer edge of said portion 9 of the {ish-plate is provided with a series of projecting lips or extensions 10, which are inserted through the slots 5 and 60 which after passing through said slots are bent so as to project outward, th'ereby forming f'eet which underlie the edge portions of the baseplate 3, as clearly shown in the drawings. The bent feet or extensions 10 of the fish-plates are 65 inserted through-the slots 5 of the base-plate, and the securingbolts ll are then passed. through the meeting ends of the rails and lishplates and turned up tightly, so as to force the upright portions 6 of the {ish-plates against 70 the web of the rail and between the head and base thereof. The rail ends are thus firmly held between the lish-plates at opposite sides and the base-plate lying beneath the same. The rail-joint as a whole is preferably made of suficient length to straddle and rest directly upon three adjacent ties, as shown in Figs. l and 2, so that the projecting feet of the fish-plates will come between the ties, while the meeting-point of the rail-sections 30 Vwill come directly over the middle one of said three ties. In this way the meeting ends of the rails are thoroughly supported and ineapable of any relative vertical movement, thereby avoiding the usual pounding of the 35 wheels at the rail-joints. The base-plate 3 is provided at suitable points with holes to reeeive spikes 13, which are driven into the ties and which anchor all of the parts of the joint thereto. It will be observed that the said projecting lips or extensions l() of the fish-'plates are of a width substantially equal to the length of the slots 5 in the base-plates and that they are bent downwardly andv outwardly to engage the adjacent edge portions of the rail-bases, as well as both of the longitudinal edges of said said fish-plates having lips projecting from the lower edges thereof at regular intervals and inserted downwardly throughand bearing against the under side of the plate between the side edges ofthe latter and the outer walls of the slots thereof, the lips being bent at the points where they pass through the slots.

In testimony whereof we aiiix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ALLEN L. THOMPSON. WALTER H. HOVENDEN. Witnesses:

NIcHoLAs J. MEAGHER, CHARLES L. HANNAMAN. 

